Tobacco-pipe.



E. H. JOHNSON.

TOBAGGO PIPE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29,1904.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

EDWARD HIBBERD JOHNSON, OF SOUTHALL, ENGLAND.

TOBACCO-PIPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

Application filed November 29, 1904. Serial No. 234,722.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD HIBBERD JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Spencer street, Southall, in the county of Middlesex, England, electrician, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to Tobacco- Pipes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tobacco pipes and has for its chief object to so construct such pipes that the deleterious products of combustion accompanying the tobacco smoke shall be prevented from reaching the smokers mouth. This object is accomplished by making the pipe on what I may term the principle of a surface condenser, in contradistinction to pipes that are constructed on the principle of trapping the said products or of filtering the smoke.

My invention has an additional important object in the provision of condensing means within the bowl of a pipe, in the nature of an absorbent surface or cup of such material that it will produce the greatest possible normal difference of temperature between its body and the generated gases and which will absorb throughout its surface every atom of the moisture or oil precipitated. For effecting this object I provide a porous surface or cup which shall be highly absorbent and also be impervious in order to compel the vapors to travel over the entire surface, and I effect this result preferably with a surface or cup made of such material as asbestos.

In the combustion of tobacco there are produced, in addition to the aromatic smoke, several by-products which are undesirable, being more or less unpalatable and injurious. These by-products which for practical purposes may be said to consist of ash, nicotin, water and heat, have not all, so far as I am aware, been satisfactorily disposed of in any pipe hitherto constructed and used, excepting perhaps in the Turkish tobacco smoking devices such as hookahs, which are however obviously inappropriate for general use.

By my improved pipe the aforesaid byproducts are disposed of as follows :The ash, as usual, is thrown away. The nicotin is effectually trapped, that is to say, to such degree of completeness that only such nicotin as resides in the individual smoke atom is permitted to pass and without which of course the smoke would be void of its aroma. The Water (in the form of steam due to the generated heat of combustion) is condensed and in turn completely trapped and absorbed. The heat, carried mainly by the steam, is largely retained by the trapped or precipitated water, and thus absorbed by the condensing body, the remainder being radiated to the outer air by virtue of the special form and construction of pipe which I have adopted.

In these circumstances and conditions, I obtain a tobacco pipe possessing the following advantages, viz: absolute unfoulableness; the smoke passing to the smokers mouth is at the desired temperature; the old pipe aroma is not impaired; there is an entire freedom from tongue scalding; a complete .elimination of all nicotin save that necessary to yield the essential aroma and carried integrally by the smoke atoms; the constructional form of the pipe gives no outward indications of the objectionable socalled patent form and admits of the easy conversion of an old favorite pipe into my improved form without in the least marring or altering its external character and appearance; there is a complete abolition of the need of cleansing implements; its manufacture is inexpensive.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into eflect I will describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal section of one form of the improved pipe. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a slightly modified form of the pipe. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the so called condenser removed from the pipe. Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a further modified form of the said pipe.

A is the pipe-bowl; A the mouth-piece; and B the condenser.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the bowl of the pipe is made with a hollow wall the interior of which communicates freely with the bottom of the central part or tobacco containing cavity a of the bowl. The condenser B comprises a detachable cylinder which is closed at its lower end and is adapted to enter the aforesaid hollow wall and to rest upon the bottom of the bowl in such position that the bottom of said cylinder will constitute the bottom of the tobacco containing cavity of the bowl. The dimensions of said cylinder are such that concentric cylindrical spaces a a exist between the surfaces of the hollow wall and the inner and outer surfaces of the cylinder B, which spaces communicate with one another through the space a above the top of said cylinder. The bowl is also provided below said cylinder with a space a" which communicates with the bore a of the pipe and mouth-piece. \Vith a pipe thus constructed a circuitous course will be provided for the tobacco smoke from the tobacco containing cavity a to the mouthpiece; that is to say the smoke will pass through the space a at the bottom of the tobacco containing cavity, will rise in the space a between the inside surface of the said cylinder B and the adjacent surface of the said hollow wall, will pass over the top of said cylinder through the space 60, will descend in the space a between the outside surface of said cylinder and the adjacent surface of said hollow wall, and will pass beneath the bottom of said cylinder through the space a to the bore a of the pipe-stem and mouthpiece.

In order to enable the interior of the bowl of the pipe to be readily got at, said bowl is made in two parts the upper of which is detachable and is screwed or otherwise secured to the other portion as shown at a.

For the purpose of providing the aforesaid space a beneath the bottom of the said cylinder I prefer to make the bottom of the pipe bowl with a small central projection a upon which the said cylinder rests when in place.

The aforesaid condensing cylinder B is made of asbestos or other suitable non-combustible heat-resisting and absorbent flexible material and is preferably of cup-shape and provided in or on its wall with numerous cells or channels I) (Fig. 3) 1ongitudi nally disposed so as to present a large surface area to thesmoke passing through the spaces a a on the inside and outside of said cylinder. An advantageous mode of obtaining these cells or channels Z) is to plait the material of which the cylinder B is composed the plaits formed during such opera tion constituting the aforesaid cells or channels b. By making the chamber B in this manner it can, when it becomes foul by use in the pipe, be removed and thrown away and be replaced by a clean one. Moreover when thus formed a considerable number of the cylinders B can be conveniently carried by the smoker for ready use.

I prefer to make the cylinder of one piece of flexible absorbent cellular material as first above stated and when formed in the manner hereinbefore described with numerous cells or channels 6 on its exterior and inner walls so that the smoke carrying capacity of these cells or channels on each face shall be approximately that of the bore a In the form of pipe shown in Fig. 2, the bowl A is of ordinary construction and the hollow wall thereof is obtained by making the tobacco cavity a detachable from the bowl, and for that purpose providing it with a flanged upper part a having a screwthreaded portion a for engaging with corresponding screw-threads on the inside surface of the mouth of the bowl. In other respects this form of the pipe is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 and needs no further description.

Similar parts are indicated by like letters of reference.

In the form of the pipe shown in Fig. 4:, the bowl A needs no alteration whatever, the spaces a a and the tobacco containing cavity a in the preceding forms of the pipe, being obtained by the introduction of an asbestos or similar hollow-walled cylinder or tube a which fits around the interior of the cellular wall of the cylinder B in such manner as to leave the aforesaid concentric spaces a a on the inside and outside of the said cylinder B, the concentric spaces a a? communicating at the upper end by the space a as in the previous cases above described. In this instance the combination of these two cylinders a and B forms the tobacco containing cavity and the condensing cylinder in one compound piece which is entirely detachable from the pipe-bowl. This compound piece can be slipped into an ordinary pipe-bowl and, assuming that it fits with sufficient closeness to prevent an air draft between its outer wall and the wall of the pipe bowl, the smoke will pass in the circuitous course heretofore described. These compound pieces may be sold separately from the pipe and may even be charged with tobacco, and then sold as tobacco cartridges to be used in pipes in general, so as to afford practically all the advantages of my improved pipe.

In some cases, in addition to using the aforesaid condensing chamber, the tobaccobowl itself may be made of compressed asbestos instead of wood, meerschaum and such like. By this means, that is to say, a compressed asbestos bowl, I obtain a further cooling effect, in thatI have another and a heavier asbestos wall or screen between the fire and the smoke chamber a. I thus also obtain a development of the old pipe aroma which is so much appreciated by most pipe smokers, in that the bowl will gradually become impregnated with nicotin and yet will not become foul. Each charge of tobacco that is smoked will liberate its contained nicotin but the heat generated will burn or fry it into the wall of the bowl and leave the latter dry and sweet. I thus provide what, for all practical purposes may be termed a nicotin flavored bowl which will enable the aforesaid old pipe aroma so much prized by many smokers to attain its maximum development.

My invention is more particularly intended for tobacco pipes as above described, it may however be equally well applied in an analogous manner 'to cigar and cigarette tubes.

I am aware that numerous tobacco pipes have heretofore been devised which are provided with detachable condenser surfaces or cups located within the bowl of the pipe. Such devices, however, so far as I am aware, have always been constructed of metal or other substances which are relatively good conductors of heat.

I am'not aware that any one has heretofore devised a surface condenser for a tobacco pipe of a porous or absorbent nature and possessing the qualities of my novel pipe of surface condenser hereinbefore described and hereinafter claimed.

WVhat I claim and desire to secure. by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A tobacco pipe embracing a bowl, a detachable cylindrical part secured at its outer end to the mouth of the pipe; in combination with a cylindrical cup of flexible condensing material having its cylindrical wall located between the inner wall of the detachable cylindrical part and the corresponding wall of the bowl, the latter being provided integrally with an upwardly extending projection adapted to support the flexible cup when in position, substantially.

having a series of vertically arranged channels adapted to distribute the smoke equally over both surfaces of the cup when in use, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4.. As an article of manufacture, a condensing cup of non-combustible absorbent material closed at its inner end and having its wall provided with numerous cells or channels extending lengthwise of the wall thereof and of approximately the same total sectional area as that of the bore of the mouth-piece for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses this fourteenth day of November 1904.

EDWARD I-IIBBERD JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

T. SELBY WARDLE, l/VALTER J. SKERTEN. 

